Emissions pooling is allowed under EU rules and enables groups, such as PSA Group, to count all the emissions across its various brands together. This means one brand with lots of EVs and hybrids can offset another one with peformance cars or SUVs.

Separate brands are also allowed to apply to form pools.

FCA has been lagging behind its rivals in the development of electric vehicles but plans to spend €9bn (£7.75bn) in the next four years to develop electric cars. Unfortunatly they won't come to market in time to avoid the penalties.

Most manufacturers are rushing to get electric and plug-in hybrid cars to market in order to reduce their emissions, but battery supply issues are stunting growth.

Tesla, which only sells zero-emission vehicles, has made more than £765m in the last three years by selling emissions credits to other manufacturers in the USA.

Currently, Toyota is the brand with the lowest overall emissions, according to JATO Dynamics, achieving 99g/km.

Matt has been an automotive journalist for four years. As senior staff writer he is responsible for the automotive content on Fleet News and also contributes to Automotive Management. Prior to this, Matt worked in the automotive industry for 10 years.